South Luwanga National Park

South Luangwa National Park

Waking up before the sunrise is the best way to do a game drive. Animals are active in the morning because, like many other African countries, Zambia is cool at night but gets scorching hot in the midday sun. In the heat, many animals seek shade and laze away the day.

I rustled around the tent looking for my toothbrush, tired but excited. Throughout the night I awoke many times to the sounds of animals near our camp. Guiding my way to the bathroom with a flashlight, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Slowly I brushed my teeth. Once I finished, I was still half awake and opened the door to find three full-grown elephants with giant ivory tusks twenty feet from the doorway. I gasped, and the elephants turned toward me and began to walk closer. Emma and a few others were standing there watching them. As they began to move, we jumped into the bathroom and shut the door tight. We stood there shaking, worried they might break down the door. Luckily, they made their way through the campsite and into the fields.

The game driver arrived in his truck, and I bravely took the front seat. These vehicles are open-air and have no doors, only a canvas roof over top. If an animal chose to, they could easily get in the car. However, I wanted the pictures, so I snagged the seat the second the truck came.

As the sun peeked over the trees, we began our drive into the park. I could already tell that I would like this park more than the Serengeti. Instead of following in a long caravan of cars, we broke off on our own route and began to explore. The landscape was pretty dry since it is still dry season here. Because it is dry season, the landscape is barren and may not be as beautifully green as in the rainy season, but it is easier to spot animals. Animals need water and venture to the water holes, which are fewer during this time of year.

Within minutes of driving, we spotted a few elephants. Our driver chose not to stop and said to go further ahead. Hmmm, ok? As we got to a dried-up river crossing, we spotted two other cars along the bed. Slowly our driver pulled up to the riverbed to see what was below while everyone in the back of the car looked around wildly trying to spot the animal.

I patiently waited for someone to spot the animal for me. However, as we pulled up, I looked down and spotted a leopard less than fifteen feet from the car. He was crouched down in the riverbed with his spots matching that of the dry mud. I turned around to tell the others who had not yet figured out what we were looking at. When I whispered the news, cameras came out and smiles came on everyone's faces. We were so close to a leopard — one of the hardest animals to find in the wild here.

I snapped some pictures and turned to the guide to thank him. This was one animal I never thought we would get the chance to see. He motioned to me to take more pictures; however, I just wanted to sit and enjoy the experience. We watched for about 20 minutes as the leopard spotted an impala in the distance and began making his move. Watching the leopard slowly stalk his prey was beautiful. The leopard’s fur is unbelievably sleek looking, and I just love the pattern. At one point, one of the tourists in our truck got out to get a picture. This is extremely dangerous, and the guide quickly made him get back in. Unfortunately, another car came and delayed the attack, so we moved on to find more game!

Our next move was to track the African wild dogs. These animals are brutal and very quick killing machines when it comes to their prey. They are considered extremely dangerous. We were safe in our cars because animals view them as one big animal, but to everyday prey these animals are deadly if you cross them. Sadly, after much tracking and footprint following, they managed to stay hidden from us. They are quickly becoming endangered and hard to find, so we were not too disappointed.

After peeling off from the track, we passed a car that informed us something was up ahead. The driver smiled and drove us up the path and peeled off into the bush below a large tree. There in the tree, directly ahead and above us, was a half-blind leopard with his dinner.

The impala hung in the middle of the tree while the leopard lounged on a tree limb. Years earlier we learned he was in a fight with another leopard and sustained eye damage, leaving him blind in his right eye. The other leopard had died in the end. Now a female leopard did his hunting and would eat her share and leave the rest in the tree for him. Leopards are known for dragging their kill into a tree to eat and keep it safe from other predators.

As we watched the leopard, he watched us back. At one point we got too close, and he let out a small snarl. Below the tree, a hyena stalked around waiting for leftover scraps. Hyenas have super strong jaws and are able to chew and digest much of the animal that other predators do not eat.

While we watched, Shaun noticed that right in front of the car to the right of the tree was the female leopard. Three leopards in one morning!! Are you serious?! This leopard had a softer touch about her features and lounged in the grass, unfazed by our visit.

Then the leopard made his move, slowly slinking down the branch to the dead impala and began to feed. His strong teeth ripped at the meat, and we all went crazy taking pictures. This was one of the things I wanted to see — an animal feeding. I was very lucky in my seat because I was able to get great pictures.

When the leopard was done, he walked back up his branch and licked his mouth. He was done. We decided to leave them alone in peace and go enjoy a nice tea break by the river.

As we had our break, we watched hippos in the river swim around. What a beautiful day it had been. We were so excited about what we had already seen, it seemed like the rest of the day did not matter. Everyone agreed that it was nice to be in such a small group and just drive around.

After our break, we spotted many more animals such as giraffes, elephants, and zebras. The zebras are awesome, and I love looking at their stripes. These two were relaxing on each other!

We headed back with an amazing day behind us and hippos waiting at the camp!

South Luwanga Camp

South Luwanga, Zambia Camping

 

Waking up I was exited to hear from our guide we would be headed off to a National Park to camp that night and do a game drive in the morning. I had not been reading ahead in my schedule and I did not know we had another game drive other than Chobe and Kruger. This made me super happy and excited since I love seeing animals.

After a long drive we arrived at our camp and it was gorgeous. Although we were camping we were camping at a resort that also housed luxury tents for others traveling through Africa. Once we parked the truck I took out my messily little tent and  we went over to the other side of the resort that was meant for over landers. 

Looking around it became apparent that wildlife was all around us. The resort does not have fences and the animals of the park are free to roam around. Walking over to the ledge that ran down to the river I could already spot hippos and elephants in the distance. Close by a tree stood giving some shade so I decided to make my tent there. About halfway through setting up I feel something hit my head and look up to see five monkeys jumping around the tree. How cool!!! I'm living with monkeys. I then came to notice monkeys were in most of the trees running around.

After the tents were set a few of us decided to take a walk down across the campground along the river bed. When we reached the opposite side of the grounds we found ourselves two bus lengths away from an elephant eating. We stood there walking as the elephant slowly ripped branches off from the tree. He was huge! 

 

Behind us we heard a bunch of rustling and saw monkeys tearing apart the roof of a building and playing around. So cute! Then we heard the noise that sounds like a howl and a snore at the same time! Hippos!!!! It was getting dark but we did not want to stop watching. But every so often we could hear the hippos get closer and closer by their noise but still could not see them. They were most likely close to the river bank ledge keeping them out of sight. Once the sun finally set and the pitch black set in we decided the hippos were probably close enough on river banks below that we should get out of there. 

Sitting around the fire that night we prepared ourselves for the excitement we would get tomorrow on the game drive!

Walking With Lions

Walking With Lions

 

I am going to skip down from Rwanda to Zimbabwe. Life on the road has been super busy and exciting. I find it hard to write on the bus trips and even when I do I barely have Internet. 

Lions are unbelievably gorgeous creatures. Looking at them you can tell how powerful they are. Just like many other animals, I have always had a desire to be close to a lion 

 and if possible, touch one. Heading to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe I knew that I would possibly get the chance.

Grabbing my sun screen, camera, neutral colored clothing and borrowing closed toed shoes since I don't have any, I set off. The driver picked us up and headed off. When I visited the Tigers in Thailand they took us to a whole resort where the Tigers were in enclosures. I expected this to be the same thing. I was wrong. Once we were outside of the town and down into the bush (wild) the car stopped and we got out. Wait! What? We are not going to a whole sanctuary.I stood there looking around with my guide JP at the wild surroundings. Immediately my nerves set in as I thought about the terror of being attacked by a lion. I was already nervous thinking about just petting one but now that I was in the wild I was even more concerned.

 

We started to hike in through the dying African grass. It is currently dry season so all the grass is a crisp golden color. After about ten minutes hike our guide pointed in the distance. Sure enough there up ahead two lions emerged from the grass. I froze in terror and my guide just laughed saying it was safe and they would like me because of my lion mane colored hair. Sure they will I shakily answered back.

My guide handed me a walking stick. Often lions like to play around and chew on things. The stick served as my extendable arm so the lions could chew that instead of me!!! 

Before I knew it we were getting closer and closer to the lions. They continued to walk and the guide told me to walk behind them. Quickly he reminded me to not pet the head, shoulder blades, or pull the lions tail. Cautiously I moved up to the lions backsides and strolled behind them. Slowly I moved my hand and crouched down while walking and began to pet the lion`s backs!

 

My nerves slowly rolled away as I became mesmerized by the situation. Here I was on a solo trip in Africa petting lions out in the wild!! This trip just gets better and better. I immediately thought of the people who chose to not come and sit at camp instead. I wish they could feel this experience with me. 

 

For the next forty minutes Barb, Helen, and I took turns walking next to the lions, taking pictures, and sitting with them when they stopped. A few times one of the lions would get excited and jump on the others back. They were a brother and sister and spent all their time together. At one point I became terrified as they were playing around and looked straight at me as if to say "do not mess with me!"

 

During the walk they would often stop at little branches and sit down. During this time I crouched next to them or sat down and gently pet their backs. The whole time I spent talking to them to keep them calm. 

 

I personally think lions are one of the most beautiful animals in the world. When their golden eyes stared at me I was totally paralyzed with their power. The time went so fast and I cherished every second even the ones I spent nervous. Right before leaving one of the lions sat down and I was able to give him a little tummy scratch just like it was my kitty Bazinga! With that last pet the time was up and we had to leave them to be alone again. After we went to a little hut a short walk away and learned about the program.

Walking With Lions is an organization that is starting to try to bring the lion population back up. Although lions are not endangered their numbers have declined more than 85% over the past 50 years. Human development has pushed their numbers down to around 20,000. To do this the organization breeds lions that are in captivity and releases them into the wild. While the lions are growing they keep an eye on them and offer to let people go out into the bush and walk with them In their natural habitat. Once the lions reach two years old they are then relocated to locations around Africa that have a declining population to create new prides (Family of lions)! I learned all this after the experience of being dropped off in the bush! I would have still done the experience but I would have mentally prepared more for walking out in the wild to find the lions. 

Overall, I was totally impressed with the organization and my experience. As with all animal related things often you have to be careful with how it is run and the conditions the animals live in. Never in a million years did I think they were living out in the wild for this program and was thrilled to experience and learn first hand how it works. 

Nairobi Mukuru

Nairobi – Mukuru

Waving goodbye to the giraffes, I made my way to a less conventional tourist site. I asked my taxi to take me, along with all of the extra gear I had bought over the previous days, to the GM bus station. The taxi dropped me off with my bags of toothpaste, brushes, shampoo, comforters, and more, and gave me a perplexed look as he said goodbye.

I had made a deal to meet Kaylee’s boyfriend, Tom, on the corner of the street so that we could visit Mukuru for the day, which is not a tourist destination. In the morning I went to send him a message about what I was wearing, and he laughed. His response was that I would be the only mzungu (a Swahili term commonly used for a white foreigner) on the side of the street. There I stood nervously looking around. To the bystanders I probably looked homeless with all of my stuff as thousands of Kenyans bustled around me. This was the busiest bus stop I have ever been to! A security guard came and chatted for awhile, which made me feel safe. Before I knew it, a very tall man made his way through the crowd and greeted me.

We both hopped on the back of a motorbike taxi and began to weave through the streets to the Reuben Center in Mukuru. Slowly the taller buildings and cleanliness of the streets began to disappear, and shacks and trash took their place. Sticks, tin, and blocks smashed together made up home after home everywhere I could see. Kids lined the dirt streets playing with soccer balls made of crumbled plastic shopping bags. As we rode deeper into the area, more heads stared at us.

You see, I had chosen to take a day trip to visit Nairobi’s second largest informal settlement. Nairobi’s largest, Kibera, runs tours on the outskirts. However, throughout the years celebrities visit that settlement on tours, and I wanted a more personal experience. I wanted to truly talk to people and not be part of a guided foreign group observing from the sidelines. Visiting Mukuru with one other man who worked in the school gave me the exact experience that I wanted.

We arrived at the Reuben Center, which is a school located in the Reuben District within Mukuru. The school itself has been very built up and extremely impressive. Donors have invested a lot into the school, and the difference can be seen. Tom showed me around the school, which had no children since it was the weekend. The school had a library, life skills classes, an HIV clinic, a garden, a wood shop, sewing, and so much more. The garden was very impressive because the students had made plans to use every bit of resource they could. Most of the containers were recycled materials, and the waste from the animals was set up to drop down as fertilizer for the plants. It just went to show when you put your mind to something you can use so much more and waste so much less.

After touring the school we met up with a local hip hop artist who was born and raised in the settlement. He took us on a walk to visit wherever we liked. First stop was eating in a local restaurant. The restaurant contained about three tables and was no bigger than a fourth of my classroom. Here we ate some chapati, which is like fried bread, and a local Kenyan spinach mix.

Walking through the streets we encountered child after child running around and largely fending for themselves during the day. Five-year-olds carried babies, and children laughed while covered in mud. At one point I joined a game of jump rope. They may not have much, but they laugh and have fun with what they can find. Another favorite toy was old spare tires that children used to roll, jump, and hide in. I wanted to scoop up every child and give them a bath and new clothes.

One of the first things I noticed about the clothing in many of these African countries is that I recognized many items. Especially in the settlement, many of the clothes had clearly been shipped over and donated from around the world. Most of these children wore clothes that were worn thin and looked like they had been used for months on end. Kids ran barefoot through the mud streets.

Our next stop was to visit a man named David who grew up in the settlement and became an excellent gymnast. Now a full-grown man, he has decided to open an area in the settlement that allows children to come and practice skills such as slacklining, juggling, balancing, and tumbling. All around in the open field kids worked hard to improve their skills.

They made Tom and me do a few tricks as well.

The kids were much more graceful than we were.

Once again, tires were used — this time acting as a type of trampoline for flips. How creative!

Next we went through the area to a new district to visit David's mom. She warmly welcomed us into her home and began to tell her story. Her area consisted of a small fenced space of land surrounding her shoebox house. This was the first time we had seen anyone with grass around their home. Everywhere giant bags of plastic were wrapped together and many dogs ran around. Inside her house she had three couches crammed along three walls, a table fitted in the middle like a puzzle piece, and a TV stand on the remaining wall. Each wall was covered in a white lace sheet. This was considered high-end for the area.

In 1980 she was down on her luck trying to raise three children, so she moved out of the busy city and into Mukuru. At the time it was farmland, and she was one of the first people to settle there. Slowly she struggled to collect plastic bags to recycle and earn a living. She described how life was very tough and how she had to eat scraps from hotel dumpsters. As the years went on, more and more people began to struggle around the city and also moved out to these fields. Rapidly Mukuru grew from 10 people to 600,000 in 36 years.

We were stunned. How could this place grow so quickly? This isn’t even the largest informal settlement, yet this many people had come to live in a place like this. Yes, many of the people were friendly, happy, and seemed to enjoy life on the outside, but as the stories continued with each home visit the struggle was clear. People here are working incredibly hard for better lives. David's mom was a success story. She worked hard to have a nicer home, build a plastic buying business, and raise successful children. Other stories were not so fortunate.

Our friend Tito took us to his new home. Winding through the alleys, across log bridges, and up a set of broken rock stairs, we came to his house — really just one room. A sheet covered the entrance. The room was not any larger than my classroom closet. Its only contents were a mattress on the floor, a stack of CDs, and a half-melted stereo system. Tito had been living fairly comfortably until a fire destroyed his complex. Even with all of his possessions gone, during our walks he talked about selling his music to raise money for mothers who struggle to buy formula for their children. Once again, I was struck by the generosity of the people.

My final stop was to visit the house of a student named Rosemary. During the school visit she had been practicing her sewing skills over the weekend. We kindly asked her to take us to her house. Along the way we met a man in a suit who wished to join us and worked as an excellent translator. He was curious why two white visitors were wandering around a rarely visited settlement.

Getting to Rosemary's house was like a game. The area she lived in was past flooded mud patches where we had to navigate by stepping from one rock to the next. Her complex was built by a landlord who had constructed solid wall rooms to serve as small rentals. Each one was again about a quarter of the size of my classroom or less and consisted only of mattresses, a couch, and a table. Fitting Rosemary, myself, Tom, and Tito inside was quite a squeeze. Three children came into the room. Their ages were around 10, 6, and 2. Each one, however, looked younger than their age, and the lack of nutrition could be seen in their size.

Rosemary had grown up in a stable family. She quickly got swept up in love and married her sweetheart and had three children. Her husband worked for the airline and had a steady salary, so Rosemary did not need to continue school or work. He rented an $800 apartment, and they lived a comfortable life. Unfortunately, Rosemary became sick one day and spent time in the hospital. After that, her husband decided to abandon them. Unable to keep the apartment, Rosemary downgraded to a smaller rental so the kids could stay in their school. Shortly after, even that became too expensive because she did not have the skills or education to get a job. Supporting three kids exhausted her limited funds, and she was forced to move into the settlement.

The Reuben Center helped her by giving her a small job so that she could take adult classes for free. She worked hard day and night practicing. Still, with three kids, it was not enough. The stove she was using had been loaned from a neighbor who needed it back soon. Her own stove had caught fire and been destroyed earlier. Soon her rent was due as well. She was left to decide whether they should pay the rent or eat. During the night, while all four of them shared a bed, she would work on sewing projects in hopes of selling them in tourist shops. Rosemary wanted to continue classes but was still $12 in debt to the school. No matter which way she turned, she said she felt like she was falling down a dark hole. I held back tears. How many more stories just like hers were there?

Walking back along the path I stared at each and every tin shack. Inside, children and families could be seen living on very little. I could not comprehend what some of them have seen and how they have struggled.

It was nightfall, and we made it back to the center as the sun went down. My small excursion had turned into a full day trip. I missed my pre-overland trip meeting, but I did not care. The experience that day was unlike any other. Walking through the alleys and listening to stories gave me a new perspective. As we shared a snack and a drink with Tito, his brother, his girlfriend, Tom, and Bev who works at the school, I replayed Rosemary’s story in my head. Before saying goodbye and getting dropped off, I handed Bev the rest of the money in my wallet. I asked her to use it to pay off Rosemary's debt and buy her a stove.

Nairobi giraffes

Kigali, Rwanda --> Nairobi, Kenya

 

Leaving Rwanda at Kigali airport I was finally able to retrieve my luggage! It was a bit of a hassle since some convention was going on and I had to get a bunch of security passes to get in the arrival area, but it was a success. It felt weird to all of a sudden have so much stuff. The plane ride from Kigali to Nairobi, Kenya was an hour late. On the plane I met a fabulous lady who was from Nairobi but teaching foreign exchange students in Kigali. It was a very pleasant experience getting to chat with her about education around the world.

When my plane landed I was thrilled to see my bag had successfully made it and a man was holding a sign with my name on it in the arrivals. Kaylee`s boyfriend Tom had arranged for someone to pick me up and drop me at the hotel. Arriving at the hotel exhausted I barely had time to look around before crashing straight to sleep comfortably in an 8 person tent dorm.

I awoke very excited for the day in Nairobi. I had two main plans for the day which was to kiss a giraffe and visit a slum. The first stop was the giraffe center where a raised platform stood bordering a field with giraffes. Multiple giraffe were busy sticking their heads in and our of the platform receiving food from excited guests. Before feeding the giraffe myself I read some information about giraffes and learned that there are different types of patterns of giraffes and that they have blue tongues.

 

On the platform I nervously stuck out the food as the giraffe licked it up. Next I took the food and put it at my side so that I could give him a cuddly hug!

 

Finally I got up the courage to put the food in my mouth and let the giraffe kiss me. Their spit contains an antiseptic chemical that does not transmit bacteria to humans. With that info I let them kiss away. I got a little carried away and maybe got 7-10 kisses. How many times in your life can you say a giraffe kissed you??!

 

For some more interesting facts here is one of the posters so you can read up on the tallest living land mammal!

 

Nairobi Giraffes

Kigali, Rwanda --> Nairobi, Kenya

 

Leaving Rwanda at Kigali airport I was finally able to retrieve my luggage! It was a bit of a hassle since some convention was going on and I had to get a bunch of security passes to get in the arrival area, but it was a success. It felt weird to all of a sudden have so much stuff. The plane ride from Kigali to Nairobi, Kenya was an hour late. On the plane I met a fabulous lady who was from Nairobi but teaching foreign exchange students in Kigali. It was a very pleasant experience getting to chat with her about education around the world.

When my plane landed I was thrilled to see my bag had successfully made it and a man was holding a sign with my name on it in the arrivals. Kaylee`s boyfriend Tom had arranged for someone to pick me up and drop me at the hotel. Arriving at the hotel exhausted I barely had time to look around before crashing straight to sleep comfortably in an 8 person tent dorm.

I awoke very excited for the day in Nairobi. I had two main plans for the day which was to kiss a giraffe and visit a slum. The first stop was the giraffe center where a raised platform stood bordering a field with giraffes. Multiple giraffe were busy sticking their heads in and our of the platform receiving food from excited guests. Before feeding the giraffe myself I read some information about giraffes and learned that there are different types of patterns of giraffes and that they have blue tongues.

 

On the platform I nervously stuck out the food as the giraffe licked it up. Next I took the food and put it at my side so that I could give him a cuddly hug!

 

Finally I got up the courage to put the food in my mouth and let the giraffe kiss me. Their spit contains an antiseptic chemical that does not transmit bacteria to humans. With that info I let them kiss away. I got a little carried away and maybe got 7-10 kisses. How many times in your life can you say a giraffe kissed you??!

 

For some more interesting facts here is one of the posters so you can read up on the tallest living land mammal!

 

Rwanda Times

 Rwanda - The Land of a Thousand Hills

Rwanda is a beautiful country in both landscape and culture. Putting the genocide of 1994 for behind them and moving forward the country is prospering and growing wildly. Driving through the hills and windy roads we passed beautiful new built houses and cared for farm lands. The houses all feature similar structures with bright metal roofs.

During my time in Rwanda I hit many highs and lows. The lows mainly dealt with learning more in depth about the genocide which can be read in a previous post on my travel blog. However, despite the sadness this country a bright future and sure did show me a great time through a few activities.

At one of our campsite and lovely lady named Harriet set up a camp where women living with HIV can live and build a live together. Here they teach foreigners about different crafts and talents they have. I took this opportunity to talk to ask many of them and do every activity possible.

Banana Juice Making

Women spend many hours many different types of banana juice. They explained how they must take massive amounts of bananas and make them very ripe by leaving the bananas for a day under the banana tree leaves in the ground. They dig a hole and leave them there and then cover them with the leaves. Once they are ready the women take them out and peel them. We all got down and began to peel more bananas than I have seen in my entire life.

Next was the process of separating the juice from the solid part. This is done by taking grass/hay and smashing the bananas with it over and over. Two women moved in unison as they pounded the bananas again and again in a large dug out three. The process was slow and tiring but they made it look easy. Before I knew it they had me up out of my seat with a robe tied around my waist and Ashley and I were mushing them. It is hard work! The women sang and one joined us as we extracted the juice.

 

After us a few of the guys even gave it a try! In the end the juice tasted delicious but extremely sweet.

Basket Weaving

 

Many of the women are very talented in using the straw to weave unique baskets. These are sold all over the country but here I got a chance to try it out myself and see the work that goes into every single one. The women proudly displayed their work. In their culture every woman must learn to weave before getting married. Leading up to the wedding she will weave a ton of baskets to carry her belongings to her new home with her husband.

Cow Milking

 

Well this one is pretty self explanatory. Never did I think I would be milking a cow on this trip. It was a different experience and one that I was not good at!

Bee Keeping

Again, who in their right mind would ever think I would end up bee keeping in Rwanda? A few of us signed up for the activity together after they promised we would get bee suites. Approaching the hives we are directed over to the side to get suited up. These were not suites in even the slightest imagination! The man handed us each a bed mosquito net. 

 

We all started cracking up laughing and we each put the on. We looked ridiculous! To top it off bees can easily sting straight through the net. I had enough of bees back in the gorilla trek. The entire time we laughed at each other as we smoked the bees out of their home and collected the honey combs. 

 

The honey combs were bright with sweet honey and delicious to chew on. We harvested a big jar to keep on our truck and use for tea and breakfast.